I DON'T THINK ENOUGH PEOPLE DO KNOW ABOUT IT AND THEY SHOULD. SHE IS TALKING ABOUT A SOLUTION TO THOSE ANNOYING DROPPED CELL PHONE CALLS. IT'S A SOLUTION CELL PHONE COMPANIES GIVE SOME CUSTOMERS FOR FREE, BUT MOST PEOPLE HAVE NO IDEA IF IT IS AVAILABLE RIGHT NOW. AND BESIDES BOOSTING YOUR SIGNAL, THIS DEVICE CAN HELP 911 OPERATORS GET POLICE AND FIREFIGHTERS TO YOUR HOUSE FASTER. WE FOUND A FAMILY USING THE BOOSTER AND PUT IT TO THE TEST. JESSICA GARRETT SWEARS BY HER CELL PHONE SIGNAL BOOSTER. OH, IT'S NIGHT AND DAY DIFFERENCE. THIS LITTLE DEVICE ACTS LIKE HER OWN PERSONAL CELL PHONE TOWER. OUR CALLS NEVER GET DROPPED. OUR INTERNET GOES FASTER ON OUR PHONES. IT'S EXTREMELY HELPFUL. I DON'T KNOW WHAT WE WOULD DO WITHOUT IT. WHEN YOU'RE HOME, YOUR CELL PHONE CONNECTS TO THE BOOSTER INSTEAD OF THE CELL TOWER, THEN THE BOOSTER SENDS THE SIGNAL TO THE HOME NETWORK WITHOUT RELYING ON A REGULAR TOWER. GARRETT NOTICES THE BOOST RIGHT WHEN SHE GETS HOME. I WILL GO THROUGH THE DAY THREE TO FOUR BARS. WHEN I GET WHEN THE BOOSTER HITS ME, IT WILL GO TO FIVE BARS IMMEDIATELY. WE PUT IT TO THE TEST WHEN WE UNPLUGGED THE BOOSTER, HER SIGNAL DROPPED FROM FIVE BARS TO TWO. THE BOOTS BOOSTER CAN HELP POLICE. WE GET ABOUT 20,000 CALLS INTO THE COMM CENTER ON AVERAGE, 91% OF THOSE ARE FROM CELL PHONES. WHEN YOU CALL 911 FROM A HOMELAND LINE, DISPATCHERS SEE YOUR EXACT ADDRESS SO THEY CAN SEND HELP. WITH A CELL PHONE, IT PINGS OFF SEVERAL TOWERS SO IT GIVES A GENERAL LOCATION BUT WITHOUT HAVING THE PERSON STAY ON THE LINE AND TELL US EXACTLY WHERE THEY ARE, WE WOULD BE DRIVING AROUND LOOKING FOR A PERSON ON A CELL PHONE. BUT IF YOU CALL FROM A CELL PHONE CONNECTED TO A BOOSTER, IT CAN BE PROGRAM TO SHOW DISPATCHERS YOUR EXACT ADDRESS JUST LIKE A LANDLINE ADDING CRUCIAL SECONDS TO RESPONSE TIME. HAVING A BOOSTER IN A HOUSEHOLD, NO MATTER WHAT COMPANY YOU HAVE, IS ALWAYS A GOOD IDEA. WE CHECKED SEVERAL CELL PHONE COMPANY WEB SITES. THEY SHOWED SIGNAL BOOSTERS RANGING IN PRICE FROM ABOUT A HUNDRED DOLLARS TO 250. BUT GARRETT GOT HERS FROM SPRINT FOR FREE. SPRINT CONFIRMED TO US THAT A DECISION TO GIVE A CUSTOMER A FREE DEVICE IS MADE ON A CASE BY CASE BASIS. IN OTHER WORDS, IT CAN'T HURT TO ASK. THESE DEVICES CAN BE SET UP AT HOME OR AT WORK AND ARE POPULAR WITH LARGE BUILDINGS WITH BARRIERS BLOCKING SIGNALS OR IN NEW SUBDIVISIONINGS FACEBOOK.COM/LOCAL 6. LIKE US, YOU CAN FIND IT THERE. I HAD ONE OF THESE, WHEN YOU ARE DONE WITH IT, YOU NEED TO SEND

ORLANDO, Fla. -

If you have a problem with weak cellphone signal and dropped calls at home or work, Local 6 has found a device that's solving the problem for families in Central Florida.

"Oh, it's night and day difference," said Jessica Garrett, who uses a signal booster from Sprint. "I don't think enough people do know about it and they should."

The device -- about the size of a wireless router -- acts like her own personal cellphone tower. You plug it into a power outlet and high-speed Internet. Then, your phone connects to your booster while at home, rather than a cellphone tower outside.

Local 6 put Garrett's booster to the test. She had a full five bars when it was plugged in. When we had her unplug the booster, her phone dropped down to two bars.

The cellphone boosters can also help police, who are getting more cellphone calls than ever.

"We get about 20,000 calls into the communications center on average and what we've been able to figure is about 91 percent of those is from cellphones," said Winter Park police Sgt. John Bologna.

With enhanced 911 services, a dispatcher sees your exact home address when calling 911 from a regular landline. Calling 911 from a cellphone does not work that way.

"With the cellphone it pings off several towers, so it gives us a general location but without having a person stay on the line and tell us exactly where they are, we would be driving around, looking for a person on the cellphone," Bologna said.

The cellphone booster devices can be programmed to provide an exact address to a dispatcher -- just like a landline. It could add crucial seconds to response times. AT&T programs its boosters to tell dispatchers your exact address.

"911 calls placed over your 3G MicroCell will send the address you provide in your online registration to the emergency response center responsible for sending first responders (i.e. police, medical assistance or fire) to your location," AT&T said in its frequently asked questions section for its MicroCell.

There are drawbacks, however.

"Your 3G MicroCell needs electrical power and Internet service to work. If a failure happens, all calls placed including 911 will NOT be connected through your 3G MicroCell," AT&T said. During such a failure, the calls would go through the normal cell towers.

Sprint told Local 6 its booster called the Airave helps dispatchers find you in a different way.

"An Airave is considered an extension of our wireless network, so a 911 dispatcher will be able to locate a caller based on the nearest cell tower, and if applicable, can re-bid their system for longitude and latitude of te exact location. This depends on whether that PSAP has been fully integrated for e911 services," a Sprint spokesperson told Local 6.

A Verizon spokesman was still working to confirm exactly how its booster called a network extender helped dispatchers find callers. Local 6 will update this story with that information once it's provided.

A review of several cellphone company websites shows signal boosters range in price from about $100 to $250, but Garrett was able to get hers from Sprint for free. A Sprint spokesperson confirmed to Local 6 a decision to give a free device to a customer is made on a case by case basis. In other words, it can't hurt to ask.

The devices can be set up at both home and work. They're popular in large buildings with barriers blocking signal and in newer subdivisions near the edge of town, like where Garrett lives. She's even ditched her landline altogether.

"Technologies tend to sometimes be very unreliable, but with a booster like that, it's helping technology be more reliable," she said.

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